Two South Valley communities this week received federal funds for road safety improvements, says an announcement from Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s office.
A total of $8,634,928 was awarded to California’s 18th Congressional district from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program.
Of that amount, $7,625,616 will go to San Benito County for the implementation of safety enhancement at 11 priority corridors and dangerous intersections, Lofgren’s office said. Work includes centerline and edgeline rumble strips, curve warning signs, lighting, high-visibility crosswalks, signal timing and conversion of two intersections to roundabouts.
Between 2018-2022, these areas saw 52 fatalities and 111 serious injuries.
The City of Morgan Hill will receive $449,312 of the SS4A funds, to install pedestrian and school safety countermeasures and deploy radar speed signs and speed-management software.
Work includes installing rectangular rapid-flashing beacons at six crossings, school daylighting and striping at multiple schools and 10 movable radar speed signs.
The City of Watsonville will receive $560,000 for piloting speed safety cameras and radar feedback signs to reduce unsafe speeds, educate drivers and gather data to inform future enforcement strategies, Lofgren’s office said.
“I’m proud to kick off 2026 with some amazing news for California’s 18th district,” Lofgren said. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is once again strengthening California by delivering over $8.6 million in funding to ensure the safety of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
“I was proud to vote for this law, and I’m excited to see these funds improve road safety in San Benito County, Watsonville and Morgan Hill.”
Dear Friends,
How many fewer fatalities and injuries on the highways would we see if tax dollars for highway safety were not diverted to public sector transit, as in, empty bus seat transport? If voters are unhappy with how highway safety tax dollars get diverted to wasteful public sector transit, could we recall the transit agency directors who divert our taxes to reward the powerful vested interests who control transport policy? No. Unelected, e.g., appointed transit agency directors, are not subject to the constitutional remedy of recall because they are appointed to office, not elected. Forgive me, but I repeat what I said giving the eulogy at SBC Health Nurse Janet Graham’s funeral at her church in Hollister after she was killed in a cross-over collision on Hwy 25, and what I begged SBCCOG’s Directors to do when she sent me there to beg them to make Hwy 25 a “safety corridor.” And after she sent me to the Lucille Packard Foundation in Palo Alto on behalf of SBC’s Safe Kids Coalition to speak on the then-newly enacted Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration not long after Congress created it. In following the National Transportation Policy, 49 USC 13101, I’ve seen our elected officials say one thing, and then do the opposite. Caveat viator. Joe Thompson (E-Mail: Tr******@*****ll.Net); Charter-Member SBCCOG Citizens Transit Task Force; Charter-Member SBCCOG Citizens Rail Advisory Committee; Past-President, 1999-2001, 2006, Gilroy-Morgan Hill Bar Assn.; Past-Chair, Legislation Committee, Transportation Lawyers Assn.; Past-Member, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways